Plenty of reasons to watch the highly hyped Heritage Classic

Tom Sestito and coach John Tortorella are ready for the Heritage Classic.Photo by
Arlen Redekop

Sunday’s NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks is far from an ordinary affair.

Not only is this game being played at BC Place in front of 50,000+ fans, but it has the potential to be an outdoor game (weather dependent). Despite all of the criticism of this not technically being an ‘outdoor’ game — since it’s being played in a retractable roof stadium — fans really do get the best of both worlds: the roof will be closed if it rains, and open for any other weather. Who wants to watch hockey in the cold and rain anyways?

The problem with calling this game a ‘Heritage Classic’ is that there is no rivalry between these two teams. They play in different conferences, on opposite sides of the country, and prior to this season, have faced each other only once every other year.

There is, however, a history between these two teams that dates back almost a century ago, when the Vancouver Millionaires defeated the Ottawa Senators in the 1915 Stanley Cup Finals. Maybe the Canucks could have resurrected the old Denman Arena on Georgia Street and held the game there to give this a more of that ‘Heritage Classic’ feel.

Almost everything that has been written about this high-priced production so far has been negative, and the game hasn’t even been played yet! From people complaining about ticket prices to the non-rivalry between Ottawa and Vancouver, the Canucks’ and Senators’ struggles and key injuries, and the fact that this game is only a week removed from the Canadian Olympic Hockey gold-medal game, the general public is not exactly chomping at the bit for this one. In fact, some are saying the game could not come at worse time, against an opponent most Canucks fans couldn’t care less about.

Throw in some stray dogs roaming about BC Place and you’d think we were talking about the Sochi Olympics.

But instead of adding salt to the wound, I’m going to take a different approach and put a positive spin on this game. Here are the top reasons why you should attend Sunday’s Heritage Classic:

• The scoreboard at BC Place is the second largest in North America. This means you get to see a giant-size Tom Sestito’s face on the screen. What could be better than that?

• The beer lineups shouldn’t be as long as usual, as this game is an afternoon game on a Sunday with thousands of children expected to attend.

• Consequently, the washroom lineups, compared to Rogers Arena, should be shorter as there are more facilities at BC Place.

• No more people stepping on and knocking over your beer as they pass you in your row: BC Place has cup holders in every seat!

• The food at BC Place is actually pretty decent compared to The Rog. Let’s all pray that the Vij’s Indian Food concession is open for this game.

• If you didn’t buy seats to this game early on, you could probably get really cheap tickets right before puck drop, or even go for free. The Canucks and the NHL want this game to be sold-out, come hell or high water.

• You get to Instagram a selfie and make your friends jealous by looking all cool at the Heritage Classic at BC Place!

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